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Strategic Directions for the Planning Period 2000-2005

The Board of Governors has selected five interrelated strategic directions to pursue in the fulfillment of its mission during this planning period. These five strategic directions are similar to those presented in the previous long-range plan adopted by the Board of Governors in January, 1998. However, they have been revised to reflect additional priorities established by the Board of Governors over the past two years. The order in which the strategic directions are presented does not represent any prioritization by the board. Each one is accompanied by implementation strategies. Those strategies that have outcome measures associated with the State's Performance/Program Budget system are marked with an asterisk (*). For a summary of the progress made in realizing the strategic directions of the previous long-range plan, see Appendix A.

Access: Ensure access to higher education for all qualified citizens and embrace a vision of lifelong learning.

Assist North Carolina in reaching its goal of closing the gap between the state and the national average with respect to the percent of residents who have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, with no significant differences between the educational attainment of majority and minority populations.

Continue to promote access on the part of traditionally underrepresented segments of North Carolina's population, particularly racial minorities.

Continue to keep the costs of attendance at UNC institutions affordable and to address the adequacy and effectiveness of need-based aid for undergraduates.

Implement and monitor annually the 10-year enrollment plan adopted by the Board of Governors in response to the anticipated surge in enrollments, with special attention to efforts to increase enrollments at smaller institutions with under-utilized capacity.

Maximize the capacity of UNC institutions to serve the anticipated enrollment growth as well as the need for lifelong learning through more efficient use of on-campus facilities, increased summer school enrollment, expanded use of off-campus instruction sites, and distance education.

Continue to pursue state support for new and renovated facilities to accommodate current students and anticipated enrollment growth.

Facilitate educational access through the effective use of information technology to provide information on educational opportunities (e.g., Pathways) and distance education courses and programs, to deliver academic and student services, and to promote inter-institutional collaboration in course and program delivery.

Intellectual Capital Formation: Through excellent graduate, professional, and undergraduate programs, develop an educated citizenry that will enable North Carolina to flourish.

Develop strategies to assess and respond in a timely manner to the state's educational needs, including the need for lifelong learning for both career development and personal enrichment.

Ensure the quality of academic programs both on-campus and off-campus through regular review and assessment of degree programs and instruction and through assessment of the quality of and student access to academic resources and services (e.g., academic advising, libraries, laboratories, IT) and student support services (e.g., admissions, financial aid, registrar, retention, counseling, etc.) that promote student development, retention, and graduation.*

Attract and retain exceptional teacher/scholars through competitive compensation and benefits, endowed chairs, start-up funds to initiate research programs and other appropriate support for instructional and research activities, and recognition and reward of outstanding faculty performance.

Strengthen undergraduates' knowledge and academic skill development* (including IT skills, critical thinking, and working in teams and in diverse environments) and prepare them to be successful in post-graduate studies and/or in the workplace; and prepare informed and successful graduate and professional students.*

Promote broad-based diversity in enrollments, international education opportunities, and a global perspective throughout the University community in order to prepare citizens capable of functioning effectively in a multi-ethnic and increasingly global society.

Ensure that the facilities and campus environment necessary to support educational excellence are available through the implementation of the Board of Governors' capital plan.

K-16 Education: Continue to propose and support initiatives to serve the needs of the State's public schools.

Continue efforts to develop outstanding teacher preparation programs that include strong discipline content, pedagogy, clinical training, i.e., integration of Arts and Sciences, accreditation of programs and assessments to ensure high quality teachers, administrators, and other school personnel.

Expand efforts in teacher preparation to increase the supply of well qualified teachers to serve the rapidly growing needs of North Carolina's schoolsusing traditional approaches, incentives to students, and innovative strategies, such as the University-School Teacher Education Partnerships, NC TEACH, and the NC Model Teacher Education Consortium.

Expand our commitment to the development of comprehensive, high quality programs of continuing professional development of K-12 school personnel from their initial induction to retirement.

Strengthen partnerships with K-12 and community colleges in the development of programs, curriculum and instructional materialsincluding materials that advance the use of information technologyto ensure continuous improvement in the academic achievement of North Carolina's students and to promote student success in higher education.

Support and strengthen both research and public service programs in the Center for School Leadership Development: Executive Leadership Academy, Principals' Executive Program, Principal Fellows Program, N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching, N.C. Center for the Prevention of School Violence, N.C. Mathematics and Science Education Network, and N.C. Teacher Academy.

Continue to promote collaboration with community colleges through initiatives such as the North Carolina Comprehensive Transfer Articulation Agreement, delivery of baccalaureate completion and graduate programs at community college sites, and enrollment planning.

Creation and Transfer of Knowledge: Expand the frontiers of knowledge through scholarship and research and stimulate economic development in North Carolina through basic and applied research, technology transfer, and public service activities.

Promote basic and applied research for the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge as a fundamental mission of the University.

Sustain UNC research, public service, and knowledge transfer activities that enrich the quality of life of North Carolina citizens through economic development, community outreach programs, and improved health, educational, and cultural resources.*

Continue to expand the external sponsorship of UNC research and other creative activities.*

Facilitate collaborative research and partnerships with industry, government, and other entities to advance strategic priorities of great importance to North Carolina's economy and quality of life (e.g. biosciences and biotechnology, marine and environmental sciences, engineering and materials sciences, information technology and telecommunications).*

Encourage technology transfer and the commercialization of UNC research discoveries.

Cooperate with industry and government sectors in adapting information technology for application to R&D, specifically to improve scientific collaborations and knowledge management practices as means to enhance economic development.

Transformation and Change: Use the power of information technology and more effective educational, administrative, and business practices to enable the University to respond to the competitive global environment of the 21st century.

Implement the recommendations of the Information Technology Strategy (ITS) project, emphasizing initiatives in the following five areas:

• Campus Teaching and Learning with Technology
• (TLT): Enhance campus TLT activities through campus TLT centers, instructional technology services, faculty development labs, and instructional technology development grants; and create a Collaborative TLT Program with a TLT collaborative organization, faculty fellowships, a web portal for UNC faculty, a collaborative grant program, and faculty workshops/symposia.
• Distance Education
• : Coordinate a comprehensive distance education strategy and deploy distance education pilots to evaluate distance education models and strategic challenges as a prelude to pursuing broader collaborative approaches.
• Administrative Systems
• : Establish the Alliance Shared Software Support Center to provide collaborative software services to participating campuses; and create a UNC-wide data warehouse to simplify UNC-wide data collection, improve data retention, and provide more efficient and effective reporting capabilities.
• Services for Students
• : Implement Web-enabled services for students through approaches suitable for the campus context; and develop integrated services-for-students programs through approaches suitable for the campus context.
• Logistical Needs
• : Expand campus network maintenance, enhance user support and training, and create a collaborative procurement program to facilitate multi-campus purchases of information technology hardware, software, and services.

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